Rolling with the Punches
by anywherebuhere
Summary: Lizzie is attempting to balance life as it comes at her. After her freshman year of college she though things would slow down, however dealing with academics, internships, unwelcome additions to her close group of friends and greek life means that Lizzie may have signed up for more than she bargained for.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

The first thing Lizzie saw when she awoke was light. The second thing she saw was the bottom of a trashcan, in which she promptly ejected the contents of her body in slow but violent process. Her head remained inside the turquoise bin, because although the smell in the bin may be repulsive, her splitting headache meant she couldn't move her head out of the bin and into the light.

"Good morning Lizzie, I see that someone is finally – oh," Jane stopped mid-sentence as Lizzie once again emptied her stomach contents into the bin. Lizzie managed a monosyllabic, feeble groan that echoed against the plastic in the bin.

"Ok, well I don't want to say I told you so _again_ , but I will anyways. I told you to drink more water last night, honey. It's honestly amazing you made it back here and weren't forced to stay at some house or another. I'll go get some aspirin and a wet wipe." Jane closed the blinds in their room before swiftly walking out the door.

Lizzie couldn't help but wonder what exactly Jane was talking about. However, as soon as she attempted to think back on last night but her stomach let her know that this was not a good decision. Jane then came back with some wet wipes and handed one to Lizzie, along with a glass of water and a baby aspirin. Lizzie slowly drank the tepid water, doing her best to keep everything down, as Jane rubbed her back in big circles. Eventually Lizzie's eyes and head began to clear and she looked over at Jane adoringly. "Thank you Janie, you really are a saint," Lizzie managed to reply rather hoarsely. Jane certainly looked the part this morning, her blonde hair was braided into a soft grown around her head, which was somehow still shinning brightly in the now darkly, lit room. When Lizzie and Jane made eye contact Lizzie couldn't help but laugh, she could not for the life of her understand what she did to deserve Jane.

Jane was in all ways perfect: she was incredibly smart and beautiful but was so sweet that it was hard to even think half a mean thought about her before you would instantly feel guilt rise up and take over. Jane's good nature had instantly ensured that she had many friends, despite the fact that she was very shy. It was due to Jane's shy nature that her parents thought it best that she rushed a sorority at her school. Jane had her apprehensions but was urged on by her mother, whose closest friends to this day was in her sorority in college. Jane was quickly chosen to be in Xi Chi, which had the reputation of only taking the girls who fit their image. Xi Chi was mostly known for the more wholesome girls, but ones that still knew how to party. Jane fit in perfectly at Xi Chi and was quickly pegged to be a future leader within the sorority. While Jane loved all of her sisters, it wasn't until she met Lizzie that she truly felt like Xi Chi was her home.

On the surface, Jane and Lizzie could not have be more different. It was therefore a shock to everyone that Jane had, after meeting Lizzie once, decided that Lizzie would be a perfect fit for her organization. Jane was short, fair and shy, but Lizzie was tall, dark-haired and extremely out-going. Lizzie had decided to rush a sorority only to appease her father, who swears that his time in fraternity life had made him a better man. Lizzie respected her father greatly, and only because of that respect did she agree to rush. Her plan would be to just be herself, get in somewhere, maybe, and then drop after the first couple weeks. It would therefore look to her father as if she truly did her best to make it work but she wouldn't be stuck somewhere she hated. The first person Lizzie talked to during rush was Jane, who at first intimidated her. Jane seemed to have everything put together in her life, and not just her appearance, Jane had explained to Lizzie how she was studying to be a pediatrician and had already started studying for her MCATs even though she was only a sophomore at the time. In Jane, Lizzie saw someone she admired and perhaps in another life, someone she would aspire to become. However, as much Lizzie admired Jane, she knew it was unlikely that she would ever see her again since she was in Xi Chi. Lizzie knew that she was far more likely to be placed in Delta Rho, the tough yet laid back sorority, and after Lizzie's first rush party with them Lizzie decided that she would fit well enough there for a few weeks and the Delt girls made their approval of her clear.

However, Jane saw in Lizzie someone who she would be proud to call her sister so Jane used her clout within the organization to ensure that Lizzie was offered an official bid, which Lizzie accepted upon the insistence of Jane. As the bid process, the process by which a pledge becomes an official initiated sister, continued on Lizzie would tell Jane every day that she saw her that she was going to quit. Although Lizzie found herself convinced to stay every time under Jane's gentle but firm urging. Lizzie quickly made friends with the rest of the new members and found that even though they were quite different than her they did truly care for each other and Lizzie found it quite endearing. Jane was soon revealed to be Lizzie's big sister, in which their very close bond was formalized forever. When the time came Lizzie was initiated into Xi Chi, in a ceremony facilitated by Jane, and although Lizzie did not exactly fit in perfectly with the girls in the organization she was well-loved and widely accepted.

Lizzie looked around the room she shared with Jane, and laughed. Their two halves of the room really could not have looked more different if they tried; yet still somehow they fit together perfectly. While Lizzie's side of the room was fairly neat: LSAT books on one side of the desk and photos pinned to a large over-full corkboard above her bed. Jane's side was immaculate. All photos were not only framed but also organized into a fashionable gallery wall that displayed Jane and Lizzie's initials as well as several references to Xi Chi.

"Lizzie, are you all right sweetie? You had quite a night last night, well at least I think you did…" Jane probed and Lizzie was brought out of her reverie for a moment. Lizzie turned to look at Jane, obvious confusion displayed across her face.

"I did?" she questioned. Lizzie thought back to last night she remembered that her Jane had their bi-weekly _Wine is Fine_ night that consisted of a bottle of chardonnay and a sappy romantic comedy, but the last thing Lizzie remembered was that they had not only opened a second bottle but had decided to start their third and after that everything was rather blank. Then all at once Lizzie started to get flashes from the evening before, but they were all quick and muddled together and did not really make any sense. "I remember… Lydia and Kitty? Vodka? Oh lots and lots of vodka… And uh… Half naked guys from Kappa Nu? Oh god. What happened last night?" Lizzie looked over at Jane for help.

"Sweetie do you not remember? You went out with Lydia and Kitty last night, in fact you insisted upon going out with them. After our, well really your, third bottle of wine you decided that you needed something a little harder." Jane explained slowly. Jane was nervous about Lizzie going out last night and told her as much, but Lizzie was Lizzie and insisted that she was fine. While Lizzie got along well with their other sisters she was never really interested in the partying aspect of being in a sorority, especially since she was now a sophomore. She was more known for going out every once in awhile, but usually remained fairly sober to watch after her sisters to ensure their safety. However, last might she seemed determined to go out and have fun and Jane certainly didn't want to be the one who prevented Lizzie from letting loose, since that was so rare for Lizzie.

"Well Janie can you fill me in on the rest of the evening? What happened after I left?" Lizzie went up to scratch her head only to realize that her hair was impossibly tangled and sticky with what she could only assume was party punch, which was a strong mix of vodka, rum, Kool-Aid and most importantly regret. Jane saw Lizzie struggling and went into the bathroom to grab her hairbrush and quickly nudged Lizzie around so she could start untangling the mess sitting on top of her head.

"Well Lizzie, I really don't know what happened to you after you left. Lyds and Kitty promised to watch out for you as I had an early shift at the hospital this morning. You assured me that you would be fine. Oh Lizzie did I make a mistake by letting you by yourself? Oh sweetie, I am so very– " Jane began, but Lizzie quickly interrupted her by waving her hand, assuring Jane that everything was alright.

"Alright well I guess I better find out from Lydia and Kitty what exactly happened last night. But first I think I need a shower. Please excuse me Janie." Lizzie got up and walked towards the bathroom, but not before turning back around to Jane and kissing her on the head as a thank you.

After Lizzie showered and brushed her teeth she instantly felt a thousand times better. She braided her dark hair away from her face. She went back into the room where Jane was sitting on her bed looking at her phone. Upon seeing Jane's phone Lizzie was reminded that Saturday morning meant that it was time for her weekly phone call to her dad. She looked at the clock and realized she only had five minutes before it was time to call; she quickly began to look through her stuff to find her phone. "Jane, sweetie, have you seen my phone anywhere?" Lizzie asked hopefully, Jane nodded in the negative and offered to help look. Lizzie waived her off and continued on her search.

Lizzie was in the middle of tearing up her bedding when she heard Jane speak, "Oh yes, Hi Mr. Bennet, Lizzie is right here… uh-huh. It's nice to hear from you too… Oh well you know same old, same old, still studying for the MCATs and working shifts at the hospital… Oh yes, being the new member educator for Xi Chi is really quite amazing, but a little stressful. Oh don't worry about me… Alright I'll put Lizzie on the phone now." Jane handed Lizzie the phone with a smile. Lizzie quickly explained to her father that she just woke up and that her phone was dead, _and definitely not lost_ , which is why she hadn't called yet. Lizzie remained on the phone with her father for a half-hour before she made her apologies and explained that she had to go.

"Well, shit. Let's hope Lydia knows where my phone is," Lizzie stated after she ended the call with her father.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Lizzie made her way downstairs in search of Lydia. She knew that Lydia was generally in one of three places: her room, in front of the television or out on the quad basking in sun and frat guys. Lizzie had hoped for the first two, but as she first entered Lydia's room she found it completely empty. Lizzie sighed and decided to head downstairs.

She then walked into the living room to find several other sisters there, circled around the dining room table. Once Lizzie's presence was known they all turned around looked at her stood up and applauded. Lizzie looked around confusion evident on her face as the girls around her continued to smile, clap and snap at her.

"Oh Lizzie have you not been in the dinning room yet?" Kitty asked once she took in Lizzie's confused face. Lizzie's negative nod only spurred Kitty on; Kitty quickly crossed the room towards Lizzie and began to usher her into the dinning room.

"Kit, stop, I need to find Lyd –" Lizzie began but was interrupted by another sister, Jess, hushing her and leading her to the dining room table.

"They came earlier this morning Lizzie," Kitty explained and gestured over to the dining room table in the center of the room. On the table was a bouquet of thirteen daffodils tied with a lilac ribbon and a note. Next to the bouquet was Lizzie's iPhone, which she quickly lunged for and grabbed.

"My phone!" Lizzie exclaimed, "Oh thank god, I was so worried I was going to have to get a new one!" Lizzie hugged the phone closely to her body and smiled.

"Ugh, Lizzie, can you not be so… _Lizzie_ for a second. Read the note!" Kitty responded looking pointedly towards the bouquet on the table. Lizzie looked at the girls around her and then back at Kitty, all of them shared the same exasperated and curious face. Lizzie picked up the note and read it to herself. "Well, what does it say? Who are they from? When you disappeared last night at the Kappa Nu party I didn't know you disappeared for a _man._ " Kitty retorted.

Lizzie looked at Kitty straight in the face and replied, "I honestly have no idea." Lizzie once again looked down and read the note, confusion quickly washed over her face.

"Well let's hear it," Samantha impatiently replied as Lizzie continued to stare at the card once more.

"It's really no big deal, honestly," Lizzie replied, much to the chagrin of everyone else in the room. "Alright, well if it means that I can leave to charge my phone in my room, fine," Lizzie huffed. " 'Looks like you forgot your phone last night, although didn't you say Cinderella was over-rated? Looking forward to hearing from you, your reluctant Prince Charming.' " Lizzie looked around at the moony faces of the women she had come to love and stuck her tongue out at them. "Well, that's it ladies. Unfortunately, I really have no idea who this is from as I can't seem to remember last night – and really can you all please stop looking at me like that?" Lizzie sighed exasperated and tired as she left the room to charge her phone.

Lizzie climbed back upstairs into her room to find Jane diligently reading some medical text that Lizzie would never understand in her life. Lizzie proceeded to plug in her phone to charge and collapse on the bed. Before she knew it Lizzie was stirred awake by some gentle prodding by Jane. "Ugh, did I fall asleep?" Lizzie groaned out Jane.

"Yeah you did sweetie, but you have to wake up now honey, we have chapter." Jane supplied, "Please don't forget that chapter is business casual attire today, so you need to wear a dress or slacks and at least brush your hair."

"Chapter? Today is Sunday? I honestly thought it was Saturday. Do I really have to go?" Lizzie replied lazily while brushing her hair. It's not that Lizzie hated chapter, although no one truly liked the two-hour long meeting that involved the whole sorority that happened every Sunday. It's just that chapter was the absolute worst if you were hung-over, like Lizzie was. Chapter meant that all hundred-plus women involved in an organization were brought into a room and sat down and talked to by the executive board and chapter advisor, a representative from the National Organization of Xi Chi. The chapter advisor was once a sister but is now graduated and lives with the girls in the house.

"Yes you really have to go this time Lizzie. Don't forget you already skipped once because you went home to visit your dad, plus not to mention elections are next week. If you want to be on the executive board you really need to show the girls that you're committed," Jane replied as she threw Lizzie's favorite navy blue dress at her.

Lizzie looked over at Jane, who already looked immaculate in her sky blue dress with her hair pulled back. Jane was the perfect fit to be the chapter President for this upcoming year, especially since in her role as Secretary she already solidified herself as one of the hardest workers of her class on the Executive Board. However, Lizzie's future within the organization was a lot less certain. While it was certainly true that Lizzie was well liked and respected amongst her peers in Xi Chi, her devotion to the sorority was often questioned since her version of sisterhood was not always as visible as other girls. Lizzie had a lot of very close friends who were either in other sororities or not affiliated with Greek life at all. Lizzie truly cared for all of her sisters, but she was only very close with Jane. On a lesser level she was fairly close with a few other sisters, mainly Mary, Kitty and Lydia, but she took on more of a mentoring role with them.

Lizzie had recently been considering running to be the Personnel Vice President for Xi Chi, which meant she would be in charge of disciplinary and risk management issues. Most of the girls believed Lizzie would be perfect fit for the role. However, there was a decent sized group who were of the impression that Lizzie simply wanted to do the position for a resume boost as opposed to a dedication to the sisterhood.

As Lizzie put on her dress she began to think about if she truly even wanted to be on the executive board for Xi Chi. It would certainly be a lot of responsibility, since it would mean that Lizzie would be held responsible if anything were to go wrong within her organization. Part of Lizzie knew that the only reason she even began to desire to be on the executive board was because of Jane's gentle but firm pushing.

Jane and Lizzie soon walked into the living room, which is where they held their chapter meeting. Jane assumed rightful her spot at the front of the room, as a member of the executive board while Lizzie sat in the middle of the room facing Jane and the other members of executive board. As roll call began, Lizzie started to think about what being on executive board would truly mean. Lizzie realized that even though Jane may have been the one to give her the idea of running for election, ultimately it was Lizzie who convinced herself to do it. She wanted to contribute more to her organization, and she knew that this would be the best way for her to leave her mark on Xi Chi. Once reaching this ultimate conclusion, Lizzie tuned back into Chapter at just the right time as they were beginning to talk about elections next week.

"So ladies, we all remember that we have a very special chapter next week, right?" Fanny began. Fanny was Xi Chi's chapter advisor, and was, in Lizzie's opinion, a little too old to be one. Chapter advisors were usually fairly recent graduates, but Fanny had graduated well over ten years ago and thereby lived vicariously through the young women in the chapter. Fanny really did care for all of the girls deeply, that much was clear, however she was a little bit over the top, and today was no exception to that.

Fanny was at the height of her glory, including her pink velour sweat suit that hadn't been in style since she graduated college. "Ladies, ladies. We all know how important elections are. However, something that makes these elections even more important has been brought to my attention by the executive board!" Fanny began to look around the room. "In six weeks time, for the first time ever might I add, Xi Chi will be having a private formal with the men of…" Fanny paused here for dramatic effect as the girls in the room physically leaned in anticipation. "With the men of… Kappa Pi Psi!" Fanny shrilled off.

All around the room the girls began to scream and laugh in pure excitement, except Lizzie. To be fair Lizzie was pretty excited; a private formal event with the top fraternity on campus was certainly very exciting. Private formals were essentially large, semi-formal parties that only the individuals involved in the two organizations are allowed to attend. Relations between sororities and fraternities are very exclusive, and having a private formal with another organization essentially meant that the two organizations would be very close for a long time. While Xi Chi was certainly a top sorority on campus, they had never had a formal with Kappa Pi, who was widely considered the best fraternity on campus. The men in Kappa Pi were generally rich, funny and good-looking, if not always the smartest. This formal meant that Xi Chi's social standing was about to skyrocket, which Lizzie really didn't care about but she knew that it would mean a lot to the other girls.

However, Lizzie instantly began to think of all of the security issues that would go along with a large group of drunk, excited college kids in a room together and her excitement quickly waned. It would certainly be a fun but very crazy night.

"Ladies, I do not need to remind to you what a _great honor_ this is," Fanny looked pointedly around the room. Lizzie felt that the term 'great honor' seemed a bit extreme, but carefully kept her face neutral. "I expect all of you to get to know the boys of Kappa Pi very well in the upcoming weeks, in fact they are having a party this upcoming Friday! They have even told us that they hope to see all of you ladies there. Who knows, maybe you'll even be able to find a husband amongst them!" Fanny looked around the room hopefully. At this point Lizzie couldn't help but roll her eyes. Ultimately she knew Fanny just meant the best for the girls in Xi Chi, and cared deeply for them, but her way of thinking was not only old-fashioned but was part of the reasons that sororities have such a bad reputation. Fanny knew this deep down, otherwise she obviously wouldn't have been chosen by the national organization to advise their chapter, but she certainly rarely showed it.

"As elections are next week, the next executive board will need to work closely with their executive board for all of the planning. I certainly know that the next President and their board will be more than capable of handling this but I will still be there to help advise and ensure that everything goes well," Miranda, the current President began and pointedly looked at Jane. "On the subject of elections, we will take secret nominations at the end of chapter and we will hold elections next week," Miranda continued on.

Chapter continued on in this fashion for another hour and a half, but Lizzie was really only half-listening. Lizzie was already thinking of who she thought would be a good fit for the rest of the executive board positions for the secret nomination process. Lizzie quickly filled out her ballot and submitted in the box as she exited the living room. When Lizzie got back to her room she checked her phone she saw that Charlotte had texted her. Charlotte had asked her to come over for coffee and catch-up. Lizzie quickly responded that she had just gotten out of chapter and would be over in about fifteen minutes. Lizzie threw on a light jacket over her dress, grabbed her purse and left the Xi Chi house and headed to the Alpha Omega Sigma house, where Charlotte lived.

Charlotte was one of Lizzie's closest friends, probably only second to Jane. Charlotte was in Alpha Omega Sigma, known as Alpha Sigs around campus. Alpha Sig was not considered a "top" sorority on campus, but instead was known for their strong sisterhood, as all of the sisters were extremely close. They were certainly more laid back than other organizations and were well liked by the other sororities on campus. A majority of fraternities often slighted Alpha Sigma, since they were not known for being large partiers, but the fraternities that did have parties with Alpha Sigs had a genuinely good time.

Charlotte met Lizzie at the door and they wandered into the living room to make coffee. "How're you doing, Lizzie?" Charlotte asked as the coffee began to brew.

"I'm alright, elections are next week so I am pretty nervous for that, I suppose." Lizzie began; she then looked around to see if anyone else was in the room with them. Once Lizzie saw that no one else was she looked at Charlotte and spoke slowly, "So I went out last night with Kitty and Lydia. It quickly snowballed and turned into a night that was apparently too wild for me," Lizzie laughed.

"Exactly how wild is too wild? Like freshman year at Sigma Epsilon on Halloween, wild?" Charlotte questioned with an eyebrow raised as she poured the coffee.

"Wild as in I woke up this morning with no memories of the night and a bouquet of flowers delivered to the house from I don't know who. The note alludes to some inside joke that I clearly don't remember." Lizzie explained as she sipped her coffee. Lizzie then recounted what the note said and a brief explanation of what had happened in her house that morning when the rest of the sorority found out about it.

"Wow, I don't even know how to respond to that really… No memory of who sent them at all? Do you have any idea of where you were or what you did last night?" Charlotte questioned both amused and a bit concerned.

"I really have no idea. I checked my phone and I didn't have any new contacts that I didn't recognize, so I guess I may never find out. I know at one point I was at Kappa Nu, but Kitty said that she didn't see me much at the party until we left for home together. I suppose one day the 'Reluctant Prince Charming' may reveal himself but until then we may never know" Lizzie laughed.

"Well the only thing I learned right now is that I need to go get trashed with Kitty and Lydia to help my non-existent love life. Although I don't think I want to get _quite_ as drunk as you were last night. I'd like to remember my Prince Charming, thank you very much." Charlotte said jokingly, but with an edge of seriousness. Lizzie laughed but shot a quick look of concern towards Charlotte.

"Anyways, I am going to apply to be an intern at the District Attorney's Office for this spring semester, I think," Lizzie explained to Charlotte, who nodded but offered no future plans of her own in response.

"Aren't you a bit worried about being over-worked? Especially if you are elected to executive board of Xi Chi." Charlotte probed.

"I mean yeah, it will be a bit exhausting but I know it will be super rewarding. I guess I just have to blow off some steam before the next semester. Speaking of which, apparently we are having a formal with Kappa Psi Pi at the end of the semester. The girls are really excited about it, meanwhile all I can do is think of all the disasters that are bound to happen, especially if Fanny has a say in any of it," Lizzie told Charlotte.

"Kappa Pi, wow, you guys are really moving on up in the world. Will you even still have time for a little old me, Alpha Sig, anymore?" Charlotte began but after Lizzie made a face continued, "You know I am only kidding Lizzie. That's really awesome, honestly, it'll be such a fun time."

"Apparently Kappa Pi is having a party this Friday and I think you should come with me," Lizzie offered. "I know for a fact that you haven't gone out in over a month and I promise I will be sober so you can get really crazy. I really don't think I can touch alcohol for at least another month after last night," Lizzie continued.

"Are you sure they'll even let me in? Don't they have a 'you must be this hot to pass' sort of rule?" Charlotte joked, but quickly looked down to hid her face from Lizzie.

"I certainly hope not otherwise I don't think I'd be able to get within thirty feet of the house" Lizzie laughed. "Seriously though, Char, you're coming. We can get ready at my place Friday, come over to my house around 7, okay?" Lizzie looked expectantly at Charlotte. Lizzie sometimes worried about Charlotte's self esteem, sometimes it was extremely hard to tell whether Charlotte was making a self deprecating joke or being serious.

"Alright, alright. I'll see you then, but Jane has to promise to do my hair," Charlotte confirmed.

Lizzie and Charlotte talked for another hour before Lizzie had to leave to go to the library to do some readings for her Constitutional Law course. The rest of Lizzie's Sunday was filled with catching up on all of her work for the rest of the week and beginning to search for internships for the spring semester. She didn't even make it back to the house in time for dinner and instead opted for a liquid dinner: two lattes. Lizzie finally made it out of the library at around midnight and began the thirty-minute walk to the sorority house.

As Lizzie walked home she finally allowed herself to think about the identity of the secret flower sender. Lizzie hadn't had a serious relationship since high school and for good reason. She dated a guy named Nick in high school for about two years, despite the fact that he was unfaithful for the last year of their tumultuous relationship. While Lizzie couldn't exactly put into words why she stayed with him she knew part of it had to do with the fact that he was mentally abusive and would threaten to end his life if she left him. She was finally able to break free of him when they both graduated high school and went to separate colleges. Lizzie was then therefore turned off from serious, committed relationships for a while after that.

While Lizzie certainly hadn't remained celibate in the past year and a half of school, her heart was never really engaged in any of the flings. She went on a few dates, but never more than three with the same guy. For the most part Lizzie had been quite content with this arrangement, however this "Reluctant Prince Charming" had reminded her of all of the great feelings that went along with being in love. While she certainly wasn't in love with the mystery man, she decided that it was time she opened herself up again to the possibility of being with someone.

When Lizzie finally lay down to go to bed that night, she was so exhausted that as soon as her head hit the pillow she instantly fell asleep.

 _Author's Note: Hello, everyone! I hope you are enjoying the story so far, I know that I am having a fantastic time writing it. This is my first story I have ever written, so bare with me as I muddle my way through this. I intend on updating this story once a week, either on Monday or Tuesday most likely. However, I am a student so my schedule is heavily dependent on how much work I have that week, so this schedule is certainly not set in stone._

 _I also wanted to say that I know that some of the terms I use are a bit unique to American college Greek Life culture, which can be very confusing for anyone not already familiar with the culture. I have done my best to explain things when I can, but as a sorority member myself I often forget what is a strange term and what is not. Please feel free to leave a review or PM me with questions or suggestions; I would be more than thrilled to answer them. Thank you for reading, loves!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The next week flew by as Lizzie was swamped with work and homework. Lizzie had taken an extra shift at the college bookstore this week so that she could get Sunday morning off. The Xi Chi elections were not until Sunday afternoon, but Lizzie had promised Jane that they would get coffee to calm each other down before the elections.

Before she knew it, it was Friday morning therefore only one class and a four-hour shift at the campus store separated Lizzie from her bed. There were plenty of high school seniors touring campus with their family so her shift at the campus store was relatively busy. Hertfordshire University was a well renowned school; so many young students eagerly bought school related apparel in hopes that they would be attending the school themselves next fall. Lizzie loved talking to the young students about Hertfordshire, and it was one of the reasons she stayed in this job.

Lizzie had an extremely good chat with one young high school junior in particular, Georgia. Georgia was both visiting her brother who attended Hertfordshire and touring the school as a possible future student. Lizzie and Georgia briefly talked about her older brother, but Lizzie responded that she didn't know him. Georgia at one point mentioned his name, but once Lizzie realized that she didn't know him she quickly forgot it.

Lizzie and Georgia ended up chatting for about a half hour, and both women quickly felt a strong bond between the two of them. However, Georgia explained that her stepmother was waiting for her outside and that she needed to leave soon. Georgia and Lizzie quickly exchanged phone numbers and Lizzie promised to answer any other questions Georgia may have that she didn't want to ask her brother about. Georgia left the store with a smile and a new Hertfordshire University hat.

The rest of Lizzie's shift passed by quickly and rather uneventfully. Before she knew it, it was time to go to class: Critical Issues in Criminal Justice. The class was usually fairly interesting, but Lizzie just could not seem to pay attention in class. Lizzie felt herself drifting towards sleep a number of times, much to her own embarrassment.

As class came to an end Lizzie made plans to grab a quick bite to eat and then head straight to bed as soon as possible. However, those plans were soon ruined when her professor called her to the front at the end of class. "Are you alright, Lizzie? I couldn't help but notice that you nodded off quite a few number of times in that class," Professor Gardiner eyed Lizzie while she packed some of her papers into her bag.

"I am so sorry, Professor, this week has been a little hectic – " Lizzie began but Professor Gardiner waved her off and smiled.

"Don't worry about it Lizzie. You know that you are one of my top students and I know that whatever reason you have for your behavior today is fine and that it won't happen again," Professor Gardiner turned to Lizzie for confirmation. Lizzie nodded emphatically. Professor Gardiner began packing up her bag and continued, "Well, I would like for you to come to my office hours next week, I have an opportunity that I think you would be interested in and I wish to discus it with you."

"Yes, of course, professor! I will definitely see you next week in office hours," Lizzie replied excitedly.

"Good, oh and Lizzie, why don't you get some sleep tonight? I'd hate to walk out of my office next week to see you asleep in the corridor waiting for me," Professor Gardiner joked over her shoulder with a smile as she walked out of the room.

Lizzie quickly grabbed her laptop and shoved it in her bag on her way out of the classroom. She headed towards her house and planned how quickly she could microwave her popcorn, throw on some sweatpants and turn on some mindless television.

Lizzie turned the corner onto Greek Row, the street lined with all of the houses of Greek life on campus, and headed towards her house. Just as Lizzie turned onto the walkway leading to her house her phone went off, signaling that she had a text. She checked her phone and saw that it was a text from Charlotte. As soon as Lizzie saw the text she instantly remembered that she had invited Char to go the Kappa Psi party with her that night. Charlotte's text read, "Be there in an hour and a half!" and began thinking of excuses she could make to Charlotte to get out of going out tonight. As Lizzie began debating the pros and cons of bailing, Lizzie remembered how upset Charlotte seemed last time they hung out. She knew that she could not bail on her friend, no matter how tired she was. After all, Lizzie was the one who had invited Charlotte to come with her tonight, and it would be incredibly rude to cancel last minute on her, especially after Charlotte actually seemed excited to go out.

Lizzie calculated that she had roughly enough time to stuff her face with some crackers, and take a power nap before Charlotte came over. So Lizzie made a quick stop in the kitchen to grab some crackers before running up the stairs to her and Jane's room to take a nap.

When she entered the room, Lizzie saw it was empty and rejoiced. She loved living with Jane, but sharing a bedroom with another person could be extremely difficult, especially when one person wanted to sleep and the other wanted to study or have someone over. This usually meant that roommates had large confrontations at some point during the year. However, since it was probably poisonous for Jane to be harsh to someone, Jane often bent to whatever Lizzie wanted. Lizzie always felt terrible about it and tried really hard to never put Jane in a position that would make her uncomfortable. So when Lizzie saw that the room was empty she decided to take full advantage of it. Lizzie turned off the light, pulled the covers over her head, and closed her eyes.

Lizzie was eventually awakened by the sound of voices coming from a few feet away. At first the voices sounded muffled but eventually she could make out what they were actually saying.

"Well, how should we wake her up? I am thinking some cold water and watermelon," Charlotte stated seriously.

"Oh, Charlotte, I don't think that would be – wait a watermelon? What exactly would you need that for?" Jane replied with a look of confusion and terror evident on her face.

"I'm up, I'm up," Lizzie replied as she slowly adjusted her eyes to the bright lights in the room. "What time is it exactly?" Lizzie questioned the two girls standing over her.

"It's eight o'clock, sweetie, Charlotte got here about forty-five minutes ago, but we decided to let you sleep for awhile. We won't need to leave for the party for another two hours, but I figured we would get some takeout delivered before getting ready for tonight," Jane explained while rubbing Lizzie's back in big, comforting circles. "We knew how tired you were and wanted to let you get some sleep before going out tonight," Jane further explained.

"Can we get Chinese pretty, pretty, please? I would kill for some sesame chicken!" Lizzie practically begged looking at Charlotte and Jane.

"We already ordered it Lizzie, it will be here in about thirty minutes. I know, I know, you love us and we are so great," Charlotte laughed, "Let's turn on some Netflix while we wait and then we can get ready for the party."

The girls put on an episode of some mindless comedy and laughed and cuddled in Lizzie's bed until Jane's phone rang, signaling that the Chinese food was there. Jane quickly returned from downstairs with the food and the smell of the food made Lizzie drool. Lizzie quickly devoured her sesame chicken, and then some of Jane's leftover vegetable chow mein. Another two episodes of television later, and it was already 9:30. There was a sudden knock on the door, which interrupted a joke on screen.

"Lizzie! Jane! I need your help! I'm coming in!" Lydia yelled from the other side of the door and promptly burst into the room. "Oh, hi Charlotte, I didn't realize that you were here. Are you coming with us tonight to Kappa Pi?" Lydia eyed Charlotte.

Charlotte and Lydia did not get along very well, and every time they were in a room together everyone in the room could feel the tension between the two of them. It's not that they necessarily hated each other, and deep down Lizzie even thought that they even cared about each other, but every time they spent a lot of time together they would always get into small fights. Charlotte thought that Lydia was too concerned with the reputation of people's organizations, which perhaps was a little true. Meanwhile, Lydia thought that Charlotte was too practical to be in Greek life and didn't let loose enough.

"Yes, _I am_ going out with you guys tonight to Kappa Pi. I certainly hope that I don't make the night _too boring_ ," Charlotte responded, dripping with sarcasm while she stared down Lydia.

"Somehow I don't think even you could make this night boring! Oh Charlotte, I am too excited about this party to fight with you tonight! Can we just be happy tonight instead? Except I can't be happy yet because I cannot get my eyeliner right," Lydia huffed. "I have done it and redone it like five times now and I just cannot get it. Actually, Charlotte your eyeliner looks so good tonight, who would've thought? Do you think you can do mine?" Lydia questioned while looking at Charlotte intently.

"Ignoring the fact that compliment you just gave me was the epitome of a backwards compliment," Charlotte began while narrowing her eyes. "I will do it for you if you agree to sit still and not say anything rude to me for the rest of the night," Charlotte stated. Lydia agreed and Charlotte forced her to sit down so she could get a better angle.

Lydia handed over her eyeliner to Charlotte, and Charlotte quickly did her eyeliner. "You guys haven't even started getting ready yet? You know that we are all having pre-drinks downstairs in a half hour right? It's already 9:45. Please ladies let's try and look nice tonight, alright? This is most important thing that our sorority has ever done, like ever," Lydia explained seriously while specifically looking at Lizzie.

Lizzie couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Lydia, not only is a party not the most important thing our sorority has ever done, but this isn't even the form with Kappa Pi. This is just some party that they are hosting. Tonight is about having fun and letting loose a bit, it's not about the future of the sorority," Lizzie countered.

"Well, whatever Lizzie. Can you just please try to look nice and get your ass downstairs? I want to see you as drunk as last weekend!" Lydia cried as she got up to leave. Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Jane, can I borrow your red top? Ok, well I actually still have it in my room so this is more of a polite thing to ask," Lydia asked, already halfway out of the room.

"Well, I suppose that's a sign that we should start getting ready then," Jane laughed, relieving the tension from the room caused by Lydia's unexpected visit. "Charlotte, sit down, I'll do your hair. Lizzie go pick out an outfit while I do Charlotte's hair," Jane instructed softly but firmly.

Lizzie went into her joint closet with Jane and looked at all of the options in front of her. She quickly decided on a pair of ripped black skinny jeans and a green long sleeve shirt that tied at the top. Lizzie thought back to her freshman year days when she used to get really dressed up for parties and she laughed at her old-self. Only freshman get really dressed up for parties, because once you were older you realized that the parties were way too packed and hot to actually look really nice.

Jane quickly called Lizzie over and lightly curled Lizzie's brown hair. "I don't even know why we bother curling my hair anymore," Lizzie laughed and continued, "The frat houses are always so hot that once I am in there for thirty minutes my hair is already flat. I feel so bad that you waste your time doing my hair"

"Oh, Lizzie, who cares? You look so pretty when I curl it that I can't help but do it," Jane waved Lizzie off with a smile.

The girls quickly did their makeup and gave each other a once over. "You both look amazing!" Lizzie exclaimed when she saw her two friends. Jane wore long, blonde hair straight and was wearing a pair of dark-wash ripped jeans and a light pink blouse that made her look like the sweetheart that she was. Charlotte was in a pair of army green jeans with a black long sleeve crop top, which made her look dark and mysterious. "Alright let's head downstairs with the other girls!" Lizzie exclaimed while walking out of the room.

The three girls went downstairs and joined the rest of the Xi Chi sorority for pre-drinks. It was chaotic downstairs with girls all over the house drinking various mixed-alcoholic drinks, taking photos or just chatting and laughing with one another. Lizzie, Jane and Charlotte quickly grabbed some mixed drinks from the kitchen and went into the living room just in time to see Fanny standing up on the table trying to get the young women's attention.

"Ladies! Ladies! You all look fabulous tonight! I am so proud of each and every one of you for looking your best for tonight's big party," Fanny began, "I don't think I need to remind you how important this party is for the future of Xi Chi!" At this Lizzie rolled her eyes from the corner of the room and made a face at Jane. "Elizabeth Bennet! For someone who is a prime candidate for the executive leadership position, I certainly hope I did not just see you belittle the importance of this party!" Fanny shouted accusatorially towards Lizzie, causing all of the girls in the room to look at her.

"No, of course not Fanny. I was simply thinking of a joke that I made earlier and it made me laugh. I am very excited for tonight, look I even did my hair!" Lizzie joked, trying to ease the tension from the room.

"Yes well, you are lucky that Jane is there, I bet she did your hair for you," Fanny dismissed as Lizzie colored at Fanny's blatant favoritism. "As I was saying, before I was interrupted, you ladies all look lovely tonight! I am so excited for you all, oh how I wish I was young again!" Fanny said dreamily as she stepped down from her spot on top of the table.

After Fanny's lecture on the importance of the evening big groups of girls began to leave the house and head towards Kappa Pi. Lizzie, Charlotte and Jane waited until the majority of girls had left until they decided to head out the door. Lizzie threw back her drink, feeling slightly tipsy, but certainly not drunk, as she headed out the door and towards Kappa Pi.

 _Author's Note:_

 _Hi everyone! Sorry I am a day late, this week has been rather crazy! I promise next week to be on time with my update!_

 _First, I know that this chapter didn't really move the plot forward much, but I needed to lay the groundwork for a huge chapter next week! Next week's chapter will heavily feature some very important and well-loved characters. (Read: Darcy and Bingley!)_

 _Second, I would like to thank IrishJessy, Birdlady57, dary84 and ReadLoverNumber1 for their reviews. Reviews help me gauge if the readers like where the story is going and where I should improve. So reviews are really amazing and hope y'all continue to review!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Lizzie, Charlotte and Jane made their way towards the Kappa Pi house at the end of the block. The fraternity certainly wasn't attempting to hide the fact that they were having a party as music coming from the house could be heard several blocks away. Lizzie couldn't help but sarcastically comment on how well they were keeping the party calm and discreet, which earned her amused looks from the other two girls. The Kappa Pi house was massive, somehow even bigger than the Xi Chi house, and had long white columns along the edge of the porch in the front. While Lizzie had certainly seen the Kappa Pi house before, walking home from campus, she had never been paid this much attention to it before.

Jane and Lizzie led Charlotte up the walkway to the house, headed towards the long porch of the house. At first, Lizzie couldn't help but feel a little intimidated, walking up to such a large house, but she quickly reminded herself of how many fraternity parties she had been to and reminded herself that this was no different from any other party. She couldn't help but wonder why this party in particular made her stomach churn, but she decided not to think about that too much.

Just as the three girls made it onto the porch and started to head directly for the door; a short man with sandy blonde hair stopped them before they could reach the front door. "Who do you know here?" the blonde man asked while attempting to puff out his chest in an act to look taller. This young man certainly looked very young, but they could tell that he was a member of the fraternity by the pin attached to his shirt.

"How old are you exactly?" Lizzie challenged back, with one eyebrow quirked, at the blonde boy attempting to block her entrance.

" _Lizzie, be nice!_ " Jane admonished before looking at the young man, "We are in Xi Chi, and a couple of our sisters told us about this party."

The short blonde stared Lizzie down for a second before busting out laughing. "Sorry, sorry! I was told by Carl to sound more authoritative at the door, but unfortunately I think I just looked like a little boy trying to impersonate his dad," the blonde boy laughed and brushed a hand through his hair. "We gotta keep our reputation up as this exclusive, cool guy fraternity, but I'm afraid they picked the wrong pledge to guard the door. The name is Pat, welcome to the house, Xi Chis," Pat opened the door and showed them inside.

"It was nice to meet you Pat, maybe next time go more for a 'cool guy' vibe than a 'tough' vibe. I think you'll have better success," Lizzie offered as she touched his shoulder to brush past him. "The name is Lizzie, by the way," Lizzie said over her shoulder at Pat.

The three girls entered the house and looked around. "I can't believe they throw parties here," Charlotte began as she looked around. She opened her arms in a wide gesture before saying, "I mean look at this place; it's incredible."

Lizzie nodded her head in agreement, as she stared wide-eyed around the entryway. The house literally looked like it could be an exhibit straight out of a museum. Usually, fraternity houses were pretty grimy and dirty, with any expensive items owned by the fraternity hidden away in the house attic or storage locker somewhere off-campus. This was not the case at Kappa Pi.

The Kappa Pi house had priceless pieces of art hanging on the walls, which was in direct contrast to normal fraternity houses. Usually house foyer featured tacky posters and composite photos of the fraternity that people would usually draw on with markers, but things were different at Kappa Pi. It was only the loud thumping sound of the music downstairs that reminded the girls that they were indeed at a fraternity party and not the opening of a new art exhibit.

"If you ladies are done gawking at my beautiful house like a bunch of freshman," Pat called behind them with a laugh, "the actual party area is down the stairs and to the left. Head towards the basement kitchen to get your drink."

"Oh, yeah, right, thanks, Pat!" Jane called back towards Patrick, clearly flustered at being caught staring at the house with such obvious awe.

Jane corralled Charlotte and Lizzie away from the gorgeous entry and down the stairs. As they continued down the stairs the music became louder, and the girls knew they were headed in the right direction. Eventually, the narrow stairs opened up to a large basement with a kitchen to the left and a large open space on the right featuring a DJ booth, a dance floor, a beer pong table, and several other tall tables surrounded by groups of people. The girls did a quick survey of the area surrounding them and quickly headed for the kitchen to grab a quick drink before going out into the throngs of dancing people.

Lizzie led the way into the kitchen and was quickly surrounded by a large group of drunken young people laughing and talking. Lizzie always got a bit overwhelmed by fraternity parties at first, so a drink always helped loosen up her anxieties a bit. So, as tradition, as soon as Lizzie saw all of the people around her she headed straight for the drink line, and the other two girls followed her lead.

"Oh, Lizzie! I'm surprised you're here!" Lydia yelled coming up behind the group and swinging her arms around Lizzie and Jane.

"Lydia, you saw me getting ready, we even talked about the party tonight," Lizzie responded while rolling her eyes at her silly sister.

"Oh yeah, well I didn't think you'd actually make it out of the house. I kinda thought that maybe I was dreaming that you weren't even there at all," Lydia responded laughing while taking a sip out of her drink. "Anyways, did you hear the latest scouting report?" Lydia asked seriously while stepping in front of Charlotte, effectively cutting her out of the conversation.

"No, what do you mean scouting report? I didn't know that you were interested in sports, Lydia," Jane began with a confused look on her face, "Which sport are we talking about? I'm afraid I don't know much about any sport other than tennis–"

"Don't fall for it, Jane, it's a trap!" Lizzie quickly cut in dramatically, eyeing Lydia suspiciously.

"Shut it Lizzie! Why Jane I am talking about the most important sport of all… Man hunting!" Lydia exclaimed with a laugh.

Lizzie looked behind Lydia to Charlotte who was attempting to appear annoyed with Lydia's blatant gossiping, but Lizzie could tell through Charlotte's intense eyes and the fact that she was physically leaning in towards Lydia, that she was interested in what Lydia was saying. Lizzie laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation: Lydia swelling with pride over the important gossip, Jane blushing at Lydia's clear forwardness and Charlotte pretending she didn't care about any of it.

"Lizzie, I am so glad you are laughing at some very important information that I know for a fact involves you," Lydia responded with her head turned up faux-indignantly. Lizzie put a hand on Lydia's shoulder, a friendly gesture encouraging her to continue. "So I just heard about the future President and VP of Social Activities of Kappa Pi, so the main two people you guys will be directly working with on this upcoming party!" Lydia exclaimed excitedly.

"Whoa, whoa, Lyd that's a big if for me. We all know Jane will be our next President, but honestly it will be a miracle if I make it onto executive board," Lizzie looked pointedly at both Jane and Lydia. Jane blushed at Lizzie's clear vote of confidence and Lydia waved both of them off, as if it were obvious that both Lizzie and Jane would win the election.

"Ok, ok, enough being all shy and self-conscious, it's unbecoming of you Lizzie. Anyways, back to the gossip! So apparently both of them are super gorgeous, like real model material and also they are super, super loaded!" Lydia squeaked out, "The President is named Charlie, and he is super friendly and kind! I heard that he also is super beautiful: dark curly hair, blue eyes, six foot five, the whole package. Someone even described him as the male Jane, ha, as if he could ever be that friendly! I don't really know anything about the Vice President other than he is blonde."

Jane laughed, "Oh Lydia, I'm sure is much friendlier and kinder than me. I am barely either of those things. Oh, well I am excited to meet the new President, he sounds quite amazing."

"Yeah, so amazing he sounds unreal, probably because he is," Lizzie responded, "Oh hell yes, we are almost to the front of this line." Lizzie reached up and grabbed three red plastic cups filled with some mix of fruit juice and really strong alcohol. As a freshman Lizzie was always very wary of these mysterious mixed drinks, but at this point Lizzie trusted Greek life enough to know that other than a wicked hangover, nothing too bad could really come from these drinks. Lizzie handed one of the cups to Jane and the other to Charlotte, and Lydia led the whole group over to a table in the main room.

Once the group got there they met another young man who introduced himself as Dennis, a pledge of Kappa Pi. "Oh, Denny, won't you pretty please introduce us to the President of Kappa Pi? We have in our very midst the future President of Xi Chi, Jane," Lydia began, turning on her full charm, "Oh please, please. It would make me so very happy, then maybe we could dance together?"

"Oh, fine Lydia. Come this way ladies," Dennis relented and led them over to the corner where two men were standing, looking out at the crowd of people. Lizzie could tell that these guys were the very ones Lydia had been gossiping about previously, since everything about them oozed importance. They were both standing in the corner surveying everything happening in the party around them. The man on the right must have been the one that Lydia called Charlie, he was tall, dark haired and beautiful. The other man, the unknown social VP, was shorter, although still tall in his own right, and had messy blonde hair and brown eyes.

The shorter man was smiling and chatting to the tall President, the short man seemed rather friendly in stark contrast to the President, who didn't appear to live up to Lydia's description of nice and kind, as he had a rather unbecoming scowl plastered on his face. Even with the scowl, Lizzie couldn't deny that this Charlie character was absolutely gorgeous, with the mess of dark curls on his head and piercing blue eyes, she couldn't help but feel a little pang of jealousy that Jane would get to work with Charlie.

"Hey guys, sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to introduce you to some Xi Chi sisters, this is Lydia over here," Dennis gestured to Lydia, who shamelessly batted her eyes at the two guys, "And this is uh…" here Dennis left off, clearly forgetting the other girls names.

"I'm Lizzie and this is Jane and Charlotte. It's really nice to meet you guys" Lizzie filled in for Dennis; she offered her hand first to the blonde guy and then to the dark haired guy. The blonde shook her hand emphatically while the dark haired man merely raised an eyebrow at her and refused to meet her hand.

The shorter, blonde fellow smiled and responded, "Hello, nice to meet you, my name is Charlie and this is Will Darcy," Charlie gestured to the man that Lizzie previously believed to be Charlie. "I'm the incoming Vice President of Social Activities, and Will here is future President of Kappa Pi!" Charlie continued with enthusiasm while quickly glancing over everyone until his eyes landed on Jane.

"Oh, what a coincidence! Jane here is going to be our new President and Lizzie is likely going to be our Vice President of Risk Management!" Lydia replied cheerfully before grabbing Dennis and Charlotte and leading both of them to the dance floor.

"Oh, well, hopefully future President. Elections aren't until Sunday, and I really don't want to jinx anything," Jane elaborated to Charlie.

"Well, as we just had elections last weekend, I would love to give you any tips on elections," Charlie began, "Not that you would need it or anything, or that my tips would be any good really. Sorry, I really didn't mean to come off so arrogant or sexist there." Charlie grimaced at his own words until looking up at Jane's smiling face. Lizzie instantly liked that Charlie had enough sense to check his privilege and not man-splain.

"No, no, I would love any advice you have. I am honestly quite nervous about the whole thing," Jane laughed and looked at Charlie genuinely.

"Here, let's go refill our drinks and talk some more about it," Charlie replied, but then suddenly seemed to remember that Lizzie and Will were still there. "I mean all of us, c'mon Will," Charlie continued and grabbed Will.

"If you insist Charles," Will replied tersely. It wasn't until the group of four made their way towards the kitchen that Lizzie was finally able to get a good look at Will up close. She had previously been so distracted by the Jane and Charlie's interaction that she hadn't gotten the chance to really look at Will. She still hadn't quite gotten over the shock that Will was not the sweet and outgoing Charlie, as Lydia had previously described. As they made their way over to the kitchen, Lizzie continued to stare at Will, trying to figure him out.

Lizzie began to think about what exactly she knew about him: he was tall, gorgeous, and according to Lydia, rich. He didn't shake her hand when she offered hers and he was the only person to call Charlie, Charles. Also, he was the President of Kappa Pi, so that meant they would be spending a lot of time with him. Just as Lizzie was thinking about just how much time they would have to spend together, she was suddenly interrupted by slamming into, what felt like, a giant, hard wall.

"Oh, sorry, I wasn't paying attention. I didn't mean to –" Lizzie began, looking up, realizing that she had just ran straight into Will.

"Clearly," Will responded while staring at her sharply, "Maybe you've already had a bit too much to drink if you can't walk without slamming into me."

"OK, well first off, who the hell do you think you are?" Lizzie replied icily, while pointing a finger at Will.

"Excuse me, I have to go," Will replied quickly, before Lizzie could finish, and left the room.

Lizzie was beyond livid. She couldn't believe the nerve of Will, accusing her of drinking too much and then leaving because he couldn't take the heat for his own comment. Lizzie was about to follow him and give him a piece of her mind when she was suddenly stopped by the image of Charlotte standing by herself in the corner of the room. While Lizzie was certainly angry at Will, she was more overwhelmed with concern for her friend, so Lizzie headed over to Charlotte, and filled her in on what had just happened.

"Well, at least Jane seems to be doing better than you," Charlotte replied with a laugh and pointed over to Jane and Charlie on the dance floor together. "They seem to be getting along, really great," Charlotte said while wiggling her eyebrows in a pointed fashion.

"C'mon let's go leave those two crazy kids alone and play some beer pong!" Lizzie exclaimed while dragging Charlotte across the room to the beer pong table. Lizzie and Charlotte put their name on the list hanging on the wall next the room and watched a couple of games to help pass the time while they waited until it was their turn.

Lizzie then noticed that Charlie and Will were standing a few feet away from her and they were talking in hushed tones to one another. So Lizzie got Charlotte's attention and gestured at the two men. Both Lizzie and Charlotte silently walked closer to them until they could make out exactly what they were saying.

"Oh, c'mon Will, you should dance! You know that Carl is still the President for this party, so it's not your job to watch over the party quite yet. You might as well enjoy this party while you can. Why don't you dance with someone? What about the other Xi Chi girl, Jane's friend, Lizzie? She was really quite pretty as well, and plus she's into risk management like you!" Charlie said to Will.

Lizzie blushed at the compliment Charlie gave her, and Charlotte gave Lizzie an approving nod and smile.

"Oh yes? The one who gets so drunk she can't walk straight? I bet she drinks so much that she can't even remember most nights. If that's what their risk management is like, I am really not looking forward to this social with Xi Chi," Will responded icily.

"Whoa, slow down, what's your damage, Will?" Charlie asked confused by Will's obvious contempt for the girl they just met, "She seemed fine to me."

"Yes, well, let's just say that you clearly don't know her like I do. Besides she's not my type anyways, she's too chubby. Just drop it Charlie, go back to dancing with that Jane girl. She's actually pretty and can at least handle her alcohol," Will replied before they both walked out of earshot of Lizzie and Charlotte.

Once they left Lizzie turned her head to see Charlotte looking at her with concern. "Are you alright Lizzie? None of what he said was true, you know that right?" Charlotte began while grabbing Lizzie into a tight hug.

"Well, I guess I didn't expect a glowing review after the total shit conversation Will and I had before, but I didn't think he would actually hate me before he got to know me," Lizzie began. "Hey, Char, I'm alright, _really_. Let's just kick some ass at beer pong," Lizzie concluded while maneuvering herself out of Charlotte's embrace.

The girls played a few games of beer pong, at which they were undefeated, before Jane found them. Jane cheered them on for their last game, but after that the three realized how late it was and decided to go home. Charlotte agreed to stay in Lizzie and Jane's room that earlier that night, as the three of them planned on talking about what happened at the party. However, as soon as they made it back to their room in the Xi Chi house and changed into sweatpants, they were all too tired to stay up and talk. The girls agreed that they would talk about it in the morning, and then promptly fell asleep.

 _Author's Note:_

 _OK, so I am just officially changing my update day to Wednesday, because clearly that is when I am actually able to finish chapters by. (Since it's Wednesday in Ireland, that's what I'm going with.) I tried to make up for the fact that I was late by making this chapter long and juicy._

 _A huge shout-out to ReaderLoverNumber1, IrishJessy, Faye, . .dicho, and swimmy6 for reviewing! Your reviews make me want to write and update faster, so please keep writing them! What did you guys think of Darcy and Bingley?_

 _So we still don't know who the 'Reluctant Prince Charming' is, but don't worry, you'll be getting some clues soon enough, I promise!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The smell of coffee invaded Lizzie's nose and the promise of caffeine propelled her awake. Lizzie surveyed the room and saw Jane and Charlotte chatting softly on Jane's bed, both of them cradling a steaming mug of coffee. The two other girls were so wholly engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice that Lizzie had woken up yet. Lizzie paused for a moment and looked lovingly at the two girls across the room. Lizzie really couldn't have asked for better friends to help her through college.

"Coffee?" Lizzie asked hoarsely to the other two girls across the room from her. Jane looked over at Lizzie, laughed, and then gestured to her nightstand, where a large mug of coffee was waiting for her. Lizzie sat up, grabbed the mug and took a sip of the coffee. "Ugh, a little milk and no sugar, just the way I like it," Lizzie said and then looked at Jane adoringly, "you really are such a saint, Jane."

"And how do you know that I wasn't your savior this morning?" Charlotte asked Lizzie with a cocked eyebrow. Jane laughed abruptly at Charlotte's comment and then covered her mouth in embarrassment at being so rude. However a smile from Charlotte informed Jane that she wasn't offended by her laugh.

"I believe Jane's little fit right there wasn't confirmation enough," Lizzie laughed and nodded her head at Jane. "Besides you would have drank all of the coffee yourself, probably right out of the pot if you could have," Lizzie countered at Charlotte before taking another long sip of her coffee. "Have you all started recapping the party last night without me?" Lizzie questioned while looking at the other two young women. When Lizzie saw their guilty faces looking back at her she put her hands over her heart and faked her best sad face before laughing at her own silliness.

"You really didn't miss much Lizzie, I was just trying to get Jane over here to tell me more about her beautiful Charlie," Charlotte explained to Lizzie while giving a teasing look at Jane.

"My Charlie? Oh c'mon Char, we just met last night," Jane quickly interrupted before Lizzie could ask more questions. "Besides I am sure he is not interested in me other than for fraternity and sorority business," Jane further explained.

"I am totally going to say that what you're saying is incorrect, just based on the way you two were dancing last night," Lizzie shot back at Jane with her eyebrow raised, signaling her disbelief.

"Oh Lizzie, he was such a great dancer!" Jane gushed, "I could hardly believe that he would even want to dance with me of all people! He is just so cute and kind. You know he gave me some tips for tomorrow and even offered to meet up tonight to talk strategy about the election. Isn't that just so sweet?"

"Oh yes, so sweet it's literally giving me cavities just thinking about it," Lizzie replied with a teasing roll of her eyes. "I bet he totally tries to make a move on you tonight at this 'strategy session'," Lizzie continued.

"Oh heavens no, I am sure this is strictly business," Jane replied with a crimson blush across her face at even the implication that Charlie could be interested in her.

"Would you be interested if he did try something?" Charlotte asked Jane seriously.

"Oh Charlotte, I can't even think about that," Jane began slowly, "I don't want to get my hopes up and come across as some silly sorority girl. I'm sure he's just being friendly, but professional. I am going to approach this meeting tonight very professionally."

"Oh, Jane, I'm sure that you will," Lizzie replied, "but we'll see what he does."

"Ok, enough about me. How was your guys' night? I'm sorry I just kind of disappeared for a bit," Jane continued, obviously trying to change the subject.

Lizzie and Charlotte began speaking at the same time, with Lizzie attempting to avoid the subject of Will and Charlotte clearly attempting to bring it up. Both Lizzie and Charlotte stopped talking once they realized what the other person was doing and glared at each other.

"I didn't catch a second of that, but it sure sounds eventful," Jane laughed while looking back and forth between Lizzie and Charlotte.

"It wasn't that eventful," Lizzie began while throwing a glare at Charlotte. "I just met my mortal enemy is all," Lizzie shrugged as if that was the most casual sentence in the entire world.

"What Lizzie is trying to say is that Charlie's friend, Will, and Lizzie did not have the best of first meetings last night," Charlotte began slowly. When Jane responded with a confused look, Charlotte explained the entirety of Lizzie and Will's altercation the night before. Charlotte first went through the comments that Will made directly to Lizzie face and the detailed what the two of them had overheard while listening in on Charlie and Will's conversation.

Lizzie decided to remain silent in an attempt to appear nonchalant through the whole description of the event. Lizzie hadn't had much time to really process what had happened last night herself, and she knew Jane would force her to talk about how this made her feel.

"Maybe he was just in a bad mood or something?" Jane offered, "Even still, that does not give him the right to be so awful to you Lizzie. Wow Lizzie, I had no idea that Will was being so rude. Oh I feel so terrible, I shouldn't have left you. I should have been there to defend you and tell him off. I am so sorry; I let my own crush on Charlie prevent me from being there for you. Could you ever forgive me Lizzie?"

Lizzie quickly crossed the room and enveloped Jane into a warm hug. "Oh Jane, don't be silly," Lizzie began, "I can handle a simple, stuck-up rich boy all on my own. It really wasn't a big deal. He just hurt my pride a little bit is all," Lizzie laughed and rubbed Jane's back until Jane calmed down. Lizzie continued, "Needless to say, I do not think that we will ever be the best of friends."

"Even still, I am saying something to Charlie tonight about it. Not only did Will say something really terrible things to and about you, it also does not look good for the fraternity President to say that about another member of Greek life," Jane said resolutely.

"Oh please don't say anything Jane. I really don't want this to become a large thing between Will and I," Lizzie pleaded, "Not to mention, Charlotte and I were kind of eavesdropping when we heard a lot of this stuff."

"Fine, but remember that once you win this election –" Jane began before Lizzie quickly cut in.

" _If_ ," Lizzie interjected.

" _When_ ," Jane responded rather forcibly, "You will have to spend a lot of time with Charlie and Will, since they are crucial to the planning of this major event as the President and VP of Social Relations. So if he says one more thing I am going to have to talk to both him and Charlie about this."

"Oh, you won't have to worry about that Jane," Lizzie began, "If he tries to start something else with me I will just give him a swift kick to the–"

"Lizzie! No violence!" Jane admonished.

"Yeah, well, you get the idea," Lizzie finished rather lamely.

"Oh shit! It's already noon? I have to go, I have a study group, and Lizzie don't you have a shift at the bookstore in thirty minutes?" Charlotte suddenly interrupted.

Lizzie looked at the clock and realized the time before running into the bathroom to get ready for work as quickly as possible. Charlotte gave Jane a hug and quickly took her leave to head back to her own house. Lizzie took a quick shower and got dressed for work.

The rest of the afternoon passed relatively quickly for Lizzie. Lizzie was on stock duty for her shift, so she was in the backroom of the bookstore for the entirety of her shift. This meant that she could play music while she worked, since no customers were allowed into the stock room. Before Lizzie knew it, her four-hour shift was already up and she walked back to the house. She decided that she would get some studying done in her room, but when she got to her room a frantic Jane greeted her.

"Oh Lizzie, I know I said that I would be professional, and I still will but," Jane began, "I really have no idea what to wear. Everything I put on either says 'mom' or 'let's get out of here right now' and I need something in between."

"Ok Jane, just breathe, honey. Let's look at some of our outfit choices. I am sure we can find something," Lizzie replied calmly.

Jane tried on several outfits before both her and Lizzie agreed on a light blue sweater that brought out Jane's eyes and a pair of dark grey skinny jeans. It was the perfect mix of casual and flattering. Lizzie knew that if Charlie had any sense to him he would be half in love with Jane by the end of the 'professional strategy meeting'.

Lizzie wished Jane good luck on her non-date and decided that she needed some coffee to kick off her long night of studying and preparing for the elections the following morning. Lizzie put on a light green jacket and headed out of the house towards the local on-campus coffee shop.

Lizzie walked into the campus coffee shop, nicknamed The Hub by the Hertfordshire students, and headed straight towards the counter. Usually Lizzie just got a drip coffee, but she decided to treat herself with a large latte. Lizzie quickly ordered her coffee and the cashier told her that someone would bring the coffee to her table.

Lizzie sat down at a small table in the corner of the room and opened her laptop to begin work. She plugged her headphones into her laptop and decided to play some music to get her motivated to write her papers. She had just opened up the essay prompt on her laptop when she felt a tapping on her shoulder.

Lizzie looked up and saw an extremely good-looking young man staring down at her. He had dark-blond messy hair, which stuck up in all directions, and warm brown eyes. His best feature by far was his wolfish grin that was simultaneously welcoming and intimidating. Lizzie was so caught off guard by the young man that she didn't notice him asking if she had ordered the latte until the third time he asked and Lizzie finally had the good sense to take out her headphones.

"Sorry if I interrupted your work," the man began, "I just didn't want to deliver the coffee to the wrong person." The man then laughed and brushed a hand through his messy mop of hair. "That really upsets some people, trust me," he further explained and laughed.

"Oh that's no problem. Sorry it took me so long to respond, I couldn't hear you until I took my headphones out," Lizzie explained dumbly and blushed.

The man smiled at her and then returned to the counter. Lizzie snapped herself out of her trance. She drank some of her coffee, put her headphones back in and recommitted herself to her work.

Lizzie had been doing work for about two and a half hours when a tap on the shoulder once again interrupted her. This time she corrected her previous mistake and took out her headphones immediately. When Lizzie looked up she saw the same beautiful smile and warm eyes that had previously interrupted her.

"Hi sorry to bother you again, but we are actually closing for the night," the man explained, "I tried to let you stay and work as long as possible, but I've already cleaned everything and the only thing left to do is to lock up."

Lizzie looked around and realized that not only was there no one else in the coffee shop, but all the other tables had already been cleaned off with the chairs were stacked on top of them. "I am so sorry," Lizzie said, red with embarrassment. "I was so focused I guess I didn't notice that everyone else had already left. I'm also a bit stressed so I was trying to focus really hard on my work in order to escape everything else. Now I'm babbling and you are just trying to go home and I am so sorry. I'll head home now," Lizzie managed to say all in one breath. Lizzie began to close her laptop and pack up her things.

"No you're fine, seriously," the man began before hesitating for a moment, "Look I know this sounds a little crazy, but you clearly need someone to talk to right now. Would you be interested in going for a short walk after I lock up?"

Lizzie looked at the man, unconvinced. "I promise I don't mean anything untoward with this offer. I promise to be a perfect gentleman; a genuine Disney prince if you will. As a generally stressed out guy, I can recognize when someone needs to talk," the young man offered while looking at Lizzie genuinely.

As soon as Lizzie heard the man call himself a prince she couldn't help but think back to the note attached to the flowers that she received a week earlier. While Lizzie knew that odds were that this wasn't the mysterious 'Reluctant Prince Charming' she couldn't help but shake the giddy feeling that the possibility implied.

"All right, yeah, sure," Lizzie said after momentarily debating her options in her head. "The name is Lizzie, by the way," Lizzie offered and extended her hand.

"Nice to meet you Lizzie, my name is George, but most people call me by my last name, Wickham," the man said as he shook Lizzie's hand.

 _Author's Note:_

 _Hello everyone! I did it, I posted on time for once, well at least here in Ireland. I am originally from the States, and am currently in university. I am currently studying for the semester in Dublin, Ireland, but I leave to go back to the states in 15 days (so the updating schedule might change then)._

 _So what did you guys think of the introduction of Wickham, our possible 'Reluctant Prince Charming'? Next chapter will focus on the sorority election, with special appearances from Darcy and Bingley._

 _Special thanks to Vikki, IrishJessy, ReaderLoverNumber1, and Swimmy6 for reviewing! I really, really appreciate it. Please keep reviewing guys; I promise it really does make me write faster._


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